The emerging organized retail sector in India has drawn huge interest from players all over the globe. A boom in consumerism fueled by the fastest growing middle-class population in the world has seen India named the No. 1 Retail destination in a well-known management consulting firm’s most recent Global Retail Development Index. This panel will explore the opportunities for Foreign Direct Investment within the sector as well as relevant market priorities for global retailers.

Sajal Kohli is a Partner in the Chicago Office of McKinsey & Company. He currently leads the North American Lean Retailing and Operations Effectiveness Practice. Since joining the Firm, he has focused on the Retail and Consumer Packaged Goods sector, specifically in the areas of Operations Effectiveness, Strategy, and Growth.

Immediately before joining the Firm full-time, Mr. Kohli was a Summer Associate in McKinsey's Amsterdam Office, a Product and Brand Manager for Mexx International b.v., a pan-European apparel company, in the Netherlands. Prior to this position, he was an Area Sales Manager for Lakme Ltd., a market leader in cosmetics and personal products, and a Management Trainee at Hindustan Lever Ltd., (subsidiary of Unilever), in India.

Mr. Kohli holds a master of management degree from Northwestern's J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management, where he graduated with distinction. He received his undergraduate degree in commerce (honors) from the University of Delhi, India, and was ranked in the top 1 percent of his graduating class.

The jewelry division of Titan Industries is represented in the market place by the brand Tanishq.

C K Venkataraman, was previously the head of Titan SBU of the company's time products division. A postgraduate from IIM Ahmedabad, joined the company in 1990 as advertising manager and progressed to divisional manager in 1997, general manager - marketing in 2000 and was the business head -Titan Brand in 2003. He has been a key contributor to brand Titan's success, skillfully steering it through very challenging times as the Indian market opened itself up to global watch brands.

Mr.Sivakumar ('Shiv') is a Chartered Accountant by profession and has over 2 decades of experience in PwC assuming varied roles within the Assurance and Advisory Services practice disciplines. Based in Bangalore, he has been the lead partner for several of the firm's key clients. Shiv also has an international experience having worked in PwC Offices in the Middle East and London for over 3 years.

Shiv has been lead Partner for several of the firm's key accounts, including, Britannia Industries Limited (Danone Group), Birla 3M Limited (3M Inc.,), Volvo India Private Limited, ITC Filtrona Limited, Parry Monsanto Seeds Private Limited, to name a few. Shiv has also audited/advised large MNCs in the Retail and Consumer Industry sectors including Metro Cash and Carry, Landmark Group, Britannia Industries, UB Group, etc.

Shiv also holds the leadership role for Retail & Consumer Industry group in India. He is currently the partner in charge of the Financial Advisory Services group for South India and has significant experience in carrying out financial due diligence, transaction advisory service, target search/evaluation, business plan reviews, and advice on accounting/structuring issues and cross border transactions. He has advised many corporate and private equity players on transactions in the technology, fast moving consumer goods and manufacturing sectors.

Mr.Shivakumar received his B.Tech. in Aerospace Engg. from IIT Madras (1982), and an MBA from IIM Kolkata, where he finished at the top of the Marketing Class. Shivakumar has over two decades of experience in the consumer market in India.

Prior to joining Nokia, Shivakumar was the Senior VP and Executive Director on the Philips India board. He joined Philips in 2003 as a Vice President for the Consumer Electronics Division. Prior to Philips, he spent 15 years with Hindustan Lever Limited (HLL), working across a wide range of brands in Oral Care, Beverages, and Hair-Care


MODERATOR

Sunil Chopra is the IBM Distinguished Professor of Operations Management at the Kellogg Graduate School of Management. He is also the Senior Associate Dean for Curriculum and Teaching at Kellogg. He became a faculty of the school in 1989. Previously he was an Assistant Professor at the Stern School of Business Administration at New York University. He has a PhD in Operations Research from SUNY Stony Brook.

He has consulted for a variety of firms including Boise Cascade Office Products, GE Capital, W.W. Grainger, Motorola, Intel, and Sara Lee.